If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Re: Setting Up Mating Nucs

Michael,

Can you give us a few more details?

The mating nuc was overwintered on 8 mini-frames. The box you pulled had 4-5 frames that had been overwinterd, right? You have given it 5-6 frames of fondation. Was the bottom box another 4 frames that had overwintered and had been give frames of foundation?

Re: Setting Up Mating Nucs

Originally Posted by TWall

Michael,

Can you give us a few more details?

The mating nuc was overwintered on 8 mini-frames. The box you pulled had 4-5 frames that had been overwinterd, right? You have given it 5-6 frames of fondation. Was the bottom box another 4 frames that had overwintered and had been give frames of foundation?

Thanks,

Tom

The nucs were doubles wintered on 8 combs each. At the beginning of May I added a super with 10 mini-combs to each...moving some brood up into the super. We broke down the nucs into the 4 way boxes giving each 2 brood a honey and an empty. The remaining combs with bees, brood and honey and the queen stayed in the super on the original stand. The 4 ways got moved to the mating yard and were given cells the next day. The supers (white boxes) with the queens were used to re-queen production colonies, and then the combs were recovered to go back on the mating nucs at the end of the mating season.

Re: Setting Up Mating Nucs

Originally Posted by bevy's honeybees

Are you setting these up in a strong nectar flow, or prior to flow?

No, a poor flow. Mid-April to mid-May we were in drought conditions. So dry that the bees never even visited the dandelion blooms...now that's a firs for me. Then mid-May to July it was cool and rainy. The temperature was in the low 50s. The next day, the cells went in the mating nucs...35˚ and blowing like crazy. Did my best to keep the cells warm...thermometer in the car, heat on full, place one cell bar of cells at a time and then back into the car to warm up.

Worst take of the summer. 80 queens from 128 nucs. And I was supposed to set up another round of cell builders that afternoon...first time in my career that I had to postpone my day's work due to weather conditions.

Re: Setting Up Mating Nucs

Originally Posted by Specialkayme

Why do your inner cover bags have feeding holes if you keep feeder frames in the nucs?

Those are for feeding for winter. The feeders hold enough for their first feeding in the spring, or an emergency feeding in the summer, but don't hold enough for winter feed. For that, I use gallon cans above the bag holes, with an empty box around them.